Aid agency Oxfam corrects statement on Yemen air strike

DUBAI (Reuters) - International aid agency Oxfam on Friday corrected comments it made last month condemning an air strike that hit an Oxfam warehouse in Yemen containing humanitarian supplies.

On April 19, the organization said that before the incident it had given detailed information on the locations of its facilities to the Saudi-led military coalition which has been attacking targets in Yemen.

On Friday, it issued a statement saying: “Oxfam is now aware that the co-ordinates of the warehouse had not in fact been shared with the Coalition, so we have amended our statement and formally retract the previous version.”

It added however: “Oxfam stands by our condemnation of the destruction of our warehouse. All parties to the conflict have an obligation to obey international humanitarian law and any deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure or indiscriminate attacks must cease immediately.”

The coalition of Arab states, backed by the West, has pounded Iranian-allied Houthi forces and fighters loyal to Yemen’s former leader since March 26, aiming to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.